Wedding

It’s amazing how complicated life gets sometimes. It seems so wonderfully simple when people see you in the grocery store, they say hello, smile at your kids, you both agree the summer is going to quickly and the kids are growing so fast, and you move on… but when you own a business, things are never quite a simple as they seem. LOL!

Case in point: I had been talking back and forth with a bride, answering questions about wedding pricing and she had told me I would be the photographer for their wedding. She was excited and so was I. A few weeks later, I get a call from a wonderful family friend, Jordan…

Jordan is a girl I took senior portraits for back when I was just getting started doing photography full-time. She loved her photos, we ended up doing a “cousins” family photoshoot, then I photographed one of those cousins the next year for her senior portraits as well. After all that, I asked this same gal to babysit my oldest son for me when he was born (I was pregnant when she was graduating and she seemed so genuinely excited and interested I knew I could trust her with my new precious baby boy.) She was beyond amazing. She brought him back to her mom & dad’s house and was never impatient to get him back to me even though I worried he must be getting in the way of her social life. She didn’t feel that way at all, in fact, her and her mom took him all over the place to eat out for lunch with the rest of their extended family, go on little shopping trips and all sorts of other interesting adventures. He (and I) inadvertently became “adopted” members of their extended family and we often celebrated birthdays, holidays and just regular old Sunday afternoons with them. I also ended up photographing her older sister’s son’s newborn portraits a few years back. Needless to say, we are all very close.

… back to the phone call…

she’s asking me about wedding photography and the date has not been set, but she’s thinking about the same date as the other bride I’ve been talking to and who “unofficially” has booked me (AKA: no deposit has been given or contract signed). I beg her to pick one of the other dates but she warns me it’s pretty likely this will be the date because it also happens to be her parent’s anniversary! How can I argue with that?!

{It also just so happens to have another element of ginormous significance… it’s my BIRTHDAY!!! 😉 Hahaa!}

… When it all was said and done, that was the date, June 25th, so I had to debate whether or not I risk upsetting the other bride, possibly ruining my reputation and delicately retract my commitment to photograph her wedding, or risk missing one of the most exciting moments in one of my friend Jordan’s life… Oh, decisions!

Obviously, I knew I couldn’t miss out on Jordan’s wedding, even if I wasn’t photographing it. So, I picked up the phone and gave the unlucky bride a call. She was so amazingly gracious and I was so full of gratitude and relief that she still had plenty of time to find another photographer and not to worry. Happy dance time!

Fast forward to Engagement Pictures… which you can find HERE.

And now it’s time to share some from the BIG DAY!!! It was the most beautiful, rustic country wedding. Set at her parent’s home with all her closest family and friends in attendance. It was a nail-biter though! There was predictions of lots of rain but we only ended up with LOTS of wind, and no rain until later that night around 10pm when everyone was safely under the tent and a little too tipsy to care that their feet were getting all wet.

The wind did make portraits quite challenging. Think wispy hair and ties flying sideways… yeah… not cool. I just had to let go of some of the ideas I had to take pictures in other parts of the yard and stick to an area behind a couple of sheds to keep my subjects from looking like they were about to be swept away. But even with all that, we have a TON of amazing images to choose from for Jordan’s wedding album which I’m excited to start designing soon.

Don’t miss noticing the amazing bridal party flowers that were created by Flowers By Bree. She is a local, Kensett, IA florist that works out of her home and she has a God-given gift for coordinating colors and textures with flowers in the most amazing ways. She can take any bride’s vision/request and bring it into a spectacularly beautiful reality. (Was that enough adjectives for you??? Seriously, she is THAT good!)

My brother-in-law, Kris, got on April 13th to the loveliest gal. Her name is Katie and her mom owns Addie’s Floral in Albert Lea, Minnesota. So I knew their wedding flowers were going to be beautiful for sure!
(Funny fact: I chose Addie for my wedding flowers when I got married to Andy over 10 years ago!)
After quite a bit of thought over having an outdoor wedding at their place in a rustic barn setting, wedding was held in Albert Lea, MN at the Methodist Church. Which was a good thing because there was quite the crowd for this beautiful couple!
I had the honor of being chose as their photographer, Andy was an usher, and our son, Collin was ring bearer! He looked so handsome in his suit!!! I was so excited to see him and Andy all dressed up for the wedding.
I’ll admit there are quite a few extra pictures of Collin mixed in the proofs.
*insert guilty grin*
After the wedding, the couple stopped at Pub 69 in Twin Lakes for a quick drink before heading to Diamond Jo Casino in Northwood, IA for the reception.
I was thrilled with their reception choice. #1 because it’s a very photogenic venue inside. #2 the food is awesome and served very fast! #3 it’s only 7 miles from my studio/home!
(Another fun fact: My younger brother also had his wedding reception there.)
They had me take portraits from “getting ready” until their first dance and the father-daughter/mother-son dance. Which is just right for designing a storybook wedding album. I can’t wait to get to work on it! Although I must say, I’m going to be a little jealous since my own wedding portraits aren’t this good!
Enjoy!
Becca
P.S. I apologize (sort of) for sharing so many images. Usually I can narrow it down a bit more, but it’s hard when it’s your own family!!!

Today I’m sharing a few images from a recent wedding I photographed in Rockwell, IA. The bride, Jacque met me at the Clarion Inn of Mason City when Formalities held the Wedding Expo there last January. I am very thankful I did the show that day, because I am so glad I got to capture Jacque and Mitchell’s wedding day. It was absolutely beautiful!
They chose to hire me for my Cinderella Collection, which includes enough time to get lots and lots of fun and crazy images at the reception. I was so tired when I was done for the day, but I had a blast because these guys knew how to party!
I really enjoyed their great exit from the church in the HUGE John Deere tractor… holy cow! I’ve photographed brides and grooms leaving on tractors several times before, but I’m pretty sure this one tops the rest in terms of sheer size!
My favorite part of the night was when they did the garter, and Harry O’Neal their DJ for the night, did the great switch-er-roo to the poor blind-folded groom and put a guy in the bride’s seat… I’ve seen it done before, but oh, my gosh, Mitchell was working it so hard blindfolded before he touched that hairy leg and reality hit, that I was laughing so hard, I’m lucky I didn’t pee my pants!!! I was seriously that funny.
Enjoy!
Becca

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Well, today I’m supposed to be uploading some more images to my site for people to view their proofs, but it’s temporarily down because I had to make a simple hosting change. … long story.
Anyhow, so I had a minute to stop and think about what I COULD upload… and I remembered I hadn’t blogged for a little while!
So here you go! Some gorgeous wedding images from a recent wedding held in Scarville, Iowa.
The bride was looking fetching in her amazing dress, and I loved the vintage-looking jewelry she purchased from Etsy.
I enjoyed working with this crazy wedding party. I’d shot some of the guys before in another wedding … so they all felt pretty comfortable being themselves around me.
After the ceremony, they rode in a bus and stopped at the park in Fertile, Iowa. There, the water was much lower than usual since it’s been pretty dry this year. Lucky for us, it allowed the wedding party to stand out in front of the waterfall created by the dam.
Soooo pretty!
Then, it was time to head to the reception! They did a great job decorating the Ventura Community Center for the event!
I loved the little touches Cassie added to personalize the reception location. And who wouldn’t love this cake topper! High Five!!!
Enjoy!
Becca

I’m sharing a few portraits this morning from a recent engagement session I photographed for a couple from Clear Lake, IA.
The bride had heard about me through friends at work (she’s a nurse at Mercy) and the groom was in a wedding I photographed last summer.
Once I heard that, I was like… “Oh, well, you’ve seen me in action, you’ve spoken directly with my past customers, this should be a no-brainer!” LOL! Right?! Like I would ever say that. (Well, I thought it anyway.) 😉
At first they decided maybe it was a little beyond their budget to go with me as their wedding photographer and booked with someone else. But after an unfortunate experience with that person, it wasn’t long until they contacted me again.
This time they were convinced the old adage, “you get what you pay for” was indeed true and sometimes you need to just go for it and invest more than you had originally planned, but if you know you will be happier in the end, you’re much better off.
I know they will be thrilled with these great, relaxed portraits. Don’t they look so in love???
They also brought their baby, Lia. She’s a chocolate lab and a very sweet dog. I love this image of them with her.
I can’t wait for their wedding coming up in July!
Enjoy!
Becca

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I just love taking engagement photos! Two adults, in love… they are just the perfect subjects! They take directions well, easy to tease a smile from, and they are just so gosh darn happy when they walk out the door. LOVE IT!
I am sharing my latest engagement session today. It’s a great couple from Rudd, IA. Jacque and Mitchell. Aren’t they adorable! I am jealous of Jacque’s long blonde hair and thin figure!!! And to top it off, she’s super nice. How fair is that??? 🙂 LOL!
I was just getting to know Mitchell, so I don’t have as much to say about him other than he’s a farmer and I know I like farmers. (My dad is a farmer, my brother, and uncle are all farmers… and lots of the best, most generous people I know are farmers)
I also enjoyed getting to use some of the new backgrounds I have available to me at the location we’re renting for the duration of our home-building process. It’s an amazing spot! And I have so many more ideas in store!
Enjoy!
Becca

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That’s right! Tomorrow’s the BIG DAY! For over a hundred brides that is! (Who have pre-registered for Formalities “A Day to Remember” Bridal Expo).
Actually, last I knew the pre-registered number was more like 125… so that’s going to be a GREAT crowd! I love, love, looove talking to brides!
They are so full of happiness and lots of amazing ideas… and brimming with the hope that they can find all the amazing vendors they need to make their dreams come true.
ENTER Becca… That’s right. I’m a dream-maker, baby!
Not to be humble or anything, but I feel like I’ve done a pretty darn good job of capturing wedding memories for close to seventy brides over the last seven years.
If you need the references to prove it, I’d be happy to share!
Okay, okay, enough of this cockiness (although it’s all true!) That’s not really what I’m like. I’m actually almost detrimentally modest, and not usually the best at tooting my own horn. So I hope I do well tomorrow, trying to self-promote.
Hopefully the “right” brides will fall in love with me and if they weren’t sure I was creative enough for them before, they will be certain to know once I hand them one of my adorable goodie bags!
(I apologize the pictures are just from my point and shoot)
Aren’t they sweet? I’m proud of all the hard work I’ve put into them.
I have been spending plenty of my spare time on Pinterest lately and it just has me in such a creative spirit! (If you haven’t checked it out yet, you MUST! Especially if you’re a bride!)
I can explain more about Pinterest in a future post, but for now… ENJOY these sweet creations! (Totally my own original idea)
Becca